The importance of maintaining proper weight for good health continues to receive increased public attention. Such increased attention adds to the frustration of overweight persons who not only desire better health, but are also conscious of their overweight appearance. In serious cases, effective weight control is best accomplished by initially coordinating training in mental discipline with specific physiological measures. Such physiological measures may be necessary because overweight persons who have made repeated attempts to lose weight experience demoralizing frustration with each successive failure. The use of more stringent methods which supplement individual self discipline by physiologically forcing a change in eating habits may be helpful in re-establishing self confidence.
The parent U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,771 discloses a general method of weight control wherein mechanical devices are used to slow down the eating process to allow the body time to naturally register the sensation of having hunger satisfied prior to the completion of a meal. It is well known, for example, that the digestive system requires approximately 15 minutes of processing time before the brain registers satisfaction of the hunger sensation. Consequently, persons who eat quickly may consume much more food than is physiologically necessary for satisfaction of hunger. The referenced patent focuses on the method of impeding the eating process by providing a blocking device which at least partially obstructs the passage of unchewed, solid foods through the mouth to the stomach. By increasing the time duration food is retained in the mouth, one automatically reduces the rate of food consumption. Accordingly, the use of dental devices which are retained at tooth structure has proven to be an effective method for weight control, when used independently or in conjunction with diets or other weight loss methods. The present disclosure constitutes an improvement subsumed within the general method set forth and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,771.